Operator for canopy type doors



Aug. 16, 1932.

s. PEELLE OPERATOR, FOR CANOPY TYPE DOORS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 5,1931 VENT 2' Sheets-Sheet 2 l l lJu-MHH II I L I'IWHHHHWHH lloll II n Tru c n u v R. s. PEELLE OPERATOR FOR CANOPY TYPE DOORS Filed Deo. 3,1931 Patented Aug. 16, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 ROBERT S.PEELLE, OF HOLLIS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOB TO THE PEELLE COMPANY, OF

a BROOKLYN, NEW.YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK OPERATOR FOR CANOPY TYPEDOORS Application filed December 3, 1931.

extensively used to close the openings at loading platforms of freighthouses, warehouses and similar buildings; Such doors are usually oflarge dimensions, of heavy, durable structure and of great weight. Suchdoors consist of two sections, the upper of which is hinged above thelintel of the door opening, and the lower of which is hinged to thebottom edge of the lower door section. The lower door section, adjacentits bottom edge,

is guided in its movement by tracks at the sides of the door opening, sothat when lifting power is applied to the bottom of this door section,its lower edge will rise in a substantially straight vertical path, thuscausing the two sections to have a horizontal component of movement onthe line of their hinged connection away from the door opening.

The common practice prior to my invention was to apply opening poweronly to the lower door section, and to rely upon manual effort orspecial appliances to break the joint between the two door sections, orprovide a,

special construction of support for the upper door section having anormal tendency to impart such movement to the upper door section aswould automatically break the oint. In. such doors, the likelihood ofdifficulty in opening and closing same was ever present, notwithstandingthe various devices employed to overcome those difliculties of breakingor closing of the joint between the two sections preparatory to theopening or following the closing of the door. In some instances aspecial construction was employed Serial No. 578,790.

to minimize the danger of crushing the hands of workmen when it wasattempted to apply manual power to effect the closing of the door.

With the above conditions in mind, I have provided an electric motordriven operator for such doors, by means of which power derived from theoperator is utilized to open a door, to release the lock holding thedoor in the closed position, break the joint between the two doorsections and simultaneously apply opening power to both the lower andthe upper section of the door, the characteristic jackknife operation ofthe two sections being the same as in the old type of door. v

The construction of the operator is also such that when closing thedoor, both sections of the door will be under the control of theelectric motors until the closing movement of the two sections has beencompleted, the joint between the two sections being closed by theoperator and the lock mechanism set while the operator is still actingupon the upper door section.

By the construction of the invention, the load of the two sections,insofar as it is not sustained by the hinged supports therefor above thelintel and by the counterweight, is divided between two synchronizedelectric motor actuated mechanisms, the two mecha nisms being subjectedto varying loads, ac cording to the position of the door. Each 7mechanism relieves the other of some of the stresses incidental to themovement of the two door sections and thus greatly facilitates theoperation of opening and closing the door.

By theoperator of the invention, I may, by the use of independentelectric motor operated mechanisms, the power of one of which is appliedadjacent the bottom'edge of the lower section, and the power of theother of which is applied adjacent the bottom edge of the upper section,not only distribute the load of the two sections between the two motoroperated mechanisms, but compensate for the constant varying load uponeach mechanism in a manner to assure a rapid, easy opening and closingmovement of the door.

The invention consists primarily in an operator for canopy type doorsembodying A therein the combination with an upper door section hingedadjacent the lintel of a door opening, a lower door section hinged tosaid upper door section adjacent the bottom thereof, counterwei 'htingmeans, rotatable guides adjacent the opposite sides of the door opening,flexible connections extending from adjacent the bottom of said lowerdoor section to said counterweighting means and passing about saidguides, of an electric motor geared to one of said rotatable guides, anarm pivotally supported adjacent the lintel of a door opening andprojecting substantially parallel with the upper door section,connections between said arm and said door sections, and an electricmotor geared to said arm; and in such other novel features ofconstruction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth anddescribed, and more particularly pointed out in the claims heretoappended.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a laterally and verticallycondensed view in elevation of aclosed canopy type door equipped with an operator of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a side view showing the door the open position; v

Fig. 3 is a sectionon the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, laterally condensed and ona larger scale;

Fig. 4 is a laterally condensed plan view of Fig. 1 upon a larger scale;and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 5 upon a larger scale. v

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the wall of abuilding is shown at 10. the lintel line of the door opening beingindicated at 11 and the floor line at 12. The jambs of the door openingare indicated at 13. At each side of the door opening is a guidestructure 14. The upper door section is shown at 15 and the lower doorsection at 16. These sections are of substantially the same height andwidth, and the lower section is supported from the upper section bymeansof hinged connections such as 17. The upper door section issupported from the wall of the building above the lintel by means ofhinges 18. y

In the form of the invention shown, the top of the upper door section isrecessed to form the extension 19 with which the strap of one of thehinge parts of each hinge is connected.

Above each guide structure 14 is a sheave 2021, and at one side of thedoor is a housing 22 in which a counterweight 23 has vertical movement.The sheave 21 is twice the width of the'sheave 20.

Connecting the counterweight 23 and the lower door section 16, adjacentthe bottom thereof, are flexible connections 24 and 25, the former ofwhich passes about the sheaves 20 and 21,and the latter of which passesonly about the sheave 21. The foregoing construction is old and wellknown in the canopy type of door art and is typical of this type ofdoor.

In some doors, channel guides are used, while in other doors angleguides are used, since the jacklrnife action of the .door will thrustthe bottom of the lower sect-ion toward the opening. In the drawings,the channel type of guide structure is shown. The bottom of the lowerdoor section, when opening and closing the door, is caused to havevertical movement only by the flexible connections or chains 24,although the manner of connecting these chains with the door is such asto permit a swivelling movement of the door in relation to theconnections. This also is old in the art.

Prior to my invention, when power operators were used with canopy typeor bi-part foldup doors, the usual practice was to apply the power ofthe motor to the lower door section only through'the flexibleconnections between the lower door and the counterweight.

In the operator of my invention, I apply motor power to both the upper,and the lower, door section and apply it in a manner to not onlyeffectively distribute the load of the two door sections between the twomotor actuated mechanisms operative upon the different door sections,but do so in a manner which will ensure a gradual shifting of this loadfrom one motor actuated mechanism to the other as the position of thetwo door sections changes with the opening or closmg movement.

Adjacent the sheave 21, I mount an electric motor 26, the shaft of whichcarries a small pinion 27 in mesh with a gear 28 forming one of theshrouds of the sheave 21. The axis of the pinion 2? is at right anglesto the wall of the shaft, or the plane of the door, being parallel withthe axis of the sheaves 20 and 21.

Intermediate the sheaves 20 and 1, I mount a second motor 29, thefitting 3O supporting which is attached to the wall of a building andprojects well away therefrom to provide space for the gear train 31, 32,33 and 34, the first gear of whici train is carried by the shaft of themotor 29, and the last gear of which train has a shaft 35 to which anarm 36 is rigidly secured. The axis of this shaft 35 is offsethorizontally and vertically with relation to the axis of the hinges 18,so that the arm 36 in its arc of movement will act with a varyingleverage upon the upper door section 15.

The arm 36 extends parallel with the upper door section 15 and projectsbeyond the bottom of this door section. Carried by the door section isakeeper 3'? provided with an anti-friction roller 38 spaced away fromthe face of the door a distance sufficient to permit a limited play oroscillation of the arm 36 prior to and following the initial opening orclosing movement of the door. The reason for this construction willappear more fully hereinafter. V

Mounted in suitable bearings 39 adjacent the bottom of the upper doorsection is a rock shaft 40. At each end of this shaft is an offset latchfitting 41 co-operating with a toothed keeper member 42 secured inrelation to the wall of the building by means of the guide structure 14at each side of the door opening. Carried by the said shaft 40 is anoffset forked fitting 43 carrying an anti friction roller 44. The arm 36passes through the fork of the fitting 43 into engaging relation withthe roller 44, the extreme end of the arm being slightly upwardlyinclined, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2 of the drawings, so as toensure the actuation of the rock shaft 40 and the lock mechanism withshort movement of the arm 36, prior to its engagement with the roller38.

The arm 36 has sliding movement in relation to the rollers 38 and 44during both the opening and closing movement of the door, this slidingmovement resulting from the difference in the arc of movement of thisarm as compared with that of the upper door section 15. As the door isbeing opened, the efiective radius at which the arm 36 acts de creases,thus increasing the effective leverage as the load upon the armincreases. While this is not absolutely essential to the invention it isdesirable for reasons to be hereinafter described.

The operation of the herein described mechanism is substantially asfollows "When the door is in the closed position, as shown in Fig. 1,the two sections are suspended from the hinges 18, the lower section 16being suspended from the upper section by the hinges 17 As those hingesare located at one face of the door, there is a tendency of the doorsections to get out of vertical alinement with each other, andresistance is offered to their being brought into vertical alinementwhen closing the door. When they are once alined, however, there is atendency for them to remain so alined. In the canopy type door art thedestruction of this alinement is known as breaking the door.

With the door closed, the offset latch mem bers 41 engage the ofisetkeeper members 42 and prevent movement of either door section I from theresult of the application of pressure to the face of the door to theright of Fig. 2.

hen it is desired to open the door, the

motors 26 and 29 are energized by the closing of a switch which may bepositioned remote from the door, since the construction of theoperatoris such that the workman is not required to apply any manualeffort either in breaking? the door, closing it, or releasing the latch.Ordinarily, a constant pressure switch is used and the motors 26 and 29are door section.

connected in parallel. The above, however, are largely matters of choicesince the invention resides, not in the particular construction of motoremployed, but in the manner of applying power of such motors to thedoor.

As the motors are'energized, the sheave 21 is rotated, thus applyinglifting power to the lower portion of the lower door section 16, andpaying out the flexible connections 2425 toward the counterweight 23.Simultaneously, with the initial rotation of the armature of the motor26, the shaft will also be turned by the reducing gear train between itand the armature of the motor 29..

The speed reducing gearing 31 to 34 is so proportioned that the movementof the arm 36 will be substantially in accord with the turning movementof the upper door section as a result of the vertical travel and horizontal component of movement of the lower lVith the initial applicationof power to the lower door section by the motor 26, the vertical lift ofthe lower part of this section will be great as compared with thehorizontal component at the upper portion of the section, and the upperportion has very little vertical movement. With the full openingmovement of the door, the lower portion of the lower door section willhave twice the vertical movement of the upper portion of this section,and the vertical movement of the lower end of the upper door sectionwill be approximately one-half of that of the vertical movementof thelower portion of the lower door section. Consequently, the verticalcom.- ponent of the arm 36 is only approximately one-half of the linealtravel of the chains When the door is in the closed position, the

arm 36 is spaced from the roller 38 so that l with the initial movementof said arm. it will act upon the fork 43 to rock the shaft 40 to anextent to disengage the latches 41 from the keepers 42, prior to theapplication of the power of this arm to the upper door section throughthe roller 38 and the fitting 37. The interval, however, is so short asto not interfere with the action of the sheave 21 in applying the powerof the motor 26 to the lowerdoor section, particularly as slippage canoccur between the sheave and the flexible connections 2425.

After the shaft 40 has been rocked to release the lock mechanism 40, 41and 42, the arm 36, by engagement with the roller 38, applies the powerof the motor 29 to the upper door section with a substantial horizontalcomponent of movement and a small vertical component. From the moment ofthe engagement of the arm 36 with the roller 38, the movement of theupper door section will be under the control of the motor 29 through thearm 36 and the gear train between this motor and the shaft carrying thisarm, and this condition will continue until the door has Eeached thefully open position, as shown in During the first stage of the openingmovement, the load upon the motor 26 will be at its maximum, but as theupper portion of this door swings away from the wall, this load will beprogressively decreasing, since the lower door section will have twoeffective points of support, to wit: the chains 24-25 and the hinges 17.This is due to the fact that the upper door section, instead ofbeingsupported in part from the lower door section, is supported from the arm36.

WVhen the door reaches the fully open position, as shown in Fig. 2, theload sustained by the'chains 2%25 and the counterweight 23 will be onlyapproximately one-half of the load of the lower door section alone uponthe initiation of the opening movement.

As the opening movement of the door proceeds, the load upon the arm 36will progressively increase, not only because the upper door sectionapproaches the horizontal position during this interval, but because theload of the lower door section upon the upper door section and the arm36 increases as the doors approach the fully open position.

As heretofore stated, however, the radius at which the arm 36 acts uponthe door, progressively decreases with the opening movement of the door,and hence this arm acts as a more effective leverage as the doorapproaches the fully open position. The power of the motor 29, however,is sufiicient to sustain the maximum load to which the arm is subjected.

By reason of the action of the arm 36, the initial application of powerin starting the opening movement of the door, so far as the motor 26 isconcerned, is very much reduced. During this period the arm 36 willimpart a large horizontal component of movement to the upper section,but, as stated, a small vertical component. With a continued actuationof the two motors, however, the vertical component will progressivelyincrease and the horizontal component will progressively decrease. Thisis due to the fact that the arm 36 moves in an are from a substantiallyvertical dead center. Consequently, the opening movement will startslowly but will become progressively more rapid until the full openposition is reached.

lVhen the door is fully open, power to the two motors 26 and 29 isinterrupted, and the counterweight is relied upon to maintain the doorin the open position. While the door is open, the entire load of bothsections is sustained by the counterweight 23 through the chains orflexible connections 24t25.

In closing the doors, the varying speed of the sections will be thereverse of that above described, the initial closing movement beingrapid as to the vertical movement of both sections, this movementgradually slowing down as the door approaches the fully closed position.

When it is desired to close the door, power is applied to the motors 26and 29 to cause a reverse rotation of the armatures thereof. During thisclosing movement, the arm 36 will describe a downward arc and thussustain the load of the upper door section during its downward swingingmovement. The motor 26 will merely raise the counterweight 23 and payout the connections 24l-25 in a manner to permit the descent of thelower door section. The movement 01": both sections will be by gravityunder the control of the motors operative thereon respectively.

As the door approaches the fully closed position, the arm 36 passes outof engagement with the roller 38 and also out of en gagement with theroller l4, thus permitting the shaft 40 to turn in a manner to soposition the latch members 41 that they may engage the striker andkeeper members 42, and become automatically operative to prevent anypossible rebound of the door. The restraint placed upon the gravitydescent of the upper door section, however, by the motor 29 and the arm36 will minimize any tendency tor the development of acquired momentumsuiticient to cause such rebound.

The final slow closing movement of the two sections, with ordinarycanopy doors, results in likelihood of a failure of both sections tocome into alinement, so that the joint between these sections is notclosed, thus requiring the application of manual force to complete theclosing movement.

With the operator of the invention, however, the power of the motor 29,when the two door sections reach almostavertical position, imparts athrust to the upper door section so that the final closing movement isaccomplished by the power of this motor through the arm 36.

In opening a door, the upward movement of the lower door section islimited upon the completion of the full opening movement by theengagement of the counterweight 23 with the bottom of the housingtherefor, thus permitting slippage between the sheave 21 and theflexible connections 2425 so that no provision for securing any nicetyin the duration of the operation of the motor 26 is necessary. Intact,during both the opening and closing movement, slippage may occur betweensaid sheave and said connections so as to secure a proper timing of therun of the connections 24l25 in relation to movements of the arm 36.

Upon the initial opening movement, the connections 2425 are relievedfrom the resistance and stresses resulting from the necessity for thebreaking of the oint in developing the desired horizontal component ofmovement of the two-sections of the door adjacent their point of pivotalconnection, this being taken care of by the arm 36. On the other hand,practically no support is afforded the upper door section by the arm 36at this time. lhe fact that the door section movements are slow makesthis condition, however, immaterial. As a result of the action of thearm 36, however, this slow opening movement is faster than with theordinary canopy door. As the arm 36 assumes an increasing proportion ofthe load of ti e two door sections, theload on the motor 26 isprogressively decreased, so that by the construction described, a rapidopening and closing movement; of the door is secured. r .7 I

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details ofconstruction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent thatsuch may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. V

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is

1. An operator for canopy type doors embodying therein the combinationwith an upper door section hinged adjacent the lintel of a door opening,a lower door section hinged to said upper door section adjacent thebot-. tom thereof, counterweighting means, rotatable guides adjacent theopposite sides of the door opening, flexible connections extending fromadjacent the bottom of said lower door section to said eounterweightingmeans and passing about said guides, of an electric motor geared to oneof said rotatable guides, an arm pivotally supported p adjacent thelintel of a door opening and projecting substantially parallel with theupper door section, connections between said arm and said door section,and an electric motor geared to said arm. j

2. An operator for canopy type doors embodying therein the combinationwith an upper door section hinged adj acent'the lintel of a dooropening, a lower door section hinged to said upper door section adjacentthe bottom thereof, counterweighting means, rotatable guides adjacentthe opposite sides of the door opening, flexible connections extendingfrom adjacent the bottom of said lower door section to saidcounterweighting means and passing about said guides, of an electricmotor geared to one of said rotatable guides, an arm pivotally supportedadjacent the lintel of a door opening and projecting sub stantiallyparallel withthe upper door section, a keeper carried by said upper doorsection, said arm extending between said keeper and the door section,and an electric motor geared to said arm.

3. An operator for canopy type doors embodying therein the combinationwith an upper door section hinged adjacent the lintel of a door opening,a lower door section hinged to said upper door section adjacent thebottom thereof, counterweighting means, rotatable guides adjacent theopposite sides of the door opening, flexible connections extending fromadjacent the bottom ofsaidlower door section to said counterweightingmeans and passing about said guides, of an electric motor geared to oneof said rotatable guides, an arm pivotaily supported adjacent and offsetin relation to the lintel of a door opening and-the hinged support forthe upper door section, and projecting substantially parallel with theupper door section, a keeper carried by said upper door section, saidarm extending between said keeper and the door section, and an electricmotor geared to said arm.

4. An operator for canopy type doors embodying thereinthe combinationwith an upper door section hinged adjacent the lintel of a door opening,a lower door section hinged to said upper door section adjacent thebottom thereof, counterweightingmeans, rotatable guides adjacenttheopposite sides ofthe door opening, flexible connections extendingfrom adjacent the bottom of said lower door section to saidcounterweighting means and passing about said guides, of an electricmotor geared to one of said rotatable guides, co-- operating latchmembers carried by the upper section and the wall of a building adjacentthe door opening, a rock shaft carrying one of said members rotatablymounted adjacent the lower edge of said upper section, an arm pivotallysupported adjacent the lintel of a door opening and projectingsubstantially parallel withthe upper door section, connectionsbetweensaid arm and said rock shaft and between said arm and said door sectionsrespectively, and an electric motor geared to of a door opening, a lowerdoor section hinged to said upper door section adjacent the bottomthereof, counterweighting means, rotatable guides adjacent the oppositesides of the door opening, flexible connections extending from adjacentthe bottom of said lower door section to said counterweighting means'andpassing about said guides, of an electric motor geared to one of saidrotatable guides, a

keeper member supported from the wallof a building adjacent the dooropening, a rock' shaft rotatably mounted adjacent the lower edge of theupper section, a latch member carriedby said rock shaft and co-operatingwith said keeper, an offset forked fitting upon said rock shaft, akeeper carried by the upper door section, an arm pivotally, supportedadjacent the lintel. of a door opening and projecting substantiallyparallel with the upper door section and in engageable relation withsaid.

GOT

forked fitting and the keeper upon said upper section, and an electricmotor geared to said arm.

6. An operator for canopy type doors embodying therein the combinationwith an upper door section hinged adjacent the lintel of adoor opening,alower door section hinged to said upper door sectionadjacent the bottomthereof, counterweighting means, rotatable guides adjacent the oppositesides of the door opening, flexible connections extending from adjacentthe bottom of said lower door section to said counterweighting means andpassing about said guides, of an electric motor geared to one of saidrotatable guides, a keeper member supported from the wall of a buildingadjacent the door opening, a rock shaft rotatably mounted adjacent thelower edge of the upper section, a latch member carried by said rockshaftand co-operating with said keeper, an offset forked fitting uponsaid rock shaft, a keeper carried by the upper door section, an armpivotally supportedadjacent and offset in relation to the lintel of thedoor opening and the hinged support for the upper door section andprojecting substantially parallel with the upper door section and inengageable relation with said forked fitting and the keeper upon saidupper section, and

, an electric motor geared to said arm.

7. An operator for canopy type doors embodying therein the combinationwith an upper door section hinged adjacent the lintel of a door opening,a lower door section hinged to said upper door section adjacent thebottom thereof, counterweighting means, rotatable guides adjacent theopposite sides of the dooropening, flexible connections extending fromadjacent the bottom of said lower door section to said counterweightingmeans and passing about said guides, of an electric motor geared to oneof said rotatable guides, an arm piyotally supported adjacent the lintelof a door opening and projecting Substantially. parallel with the upperdoor section, connections between said arm and said door section, anelectric motor, and a speed reducing gear train connecting said motorwith said arm.

8. An operator for canopy type doors embodying therein the combinationwith an upper door section hingedadjacent the lin- V tel of a dooropening, a lower door section hinged to said upper door section adjacentv the bottom thereof, counterweighting means,

rotatable guides adjacent the opposite sides of the door opening,flexible connections extending from adjacent the bottom of said lowerdoor section to said counterweighting means and passing about saidguides, of an electric motor geared-to one of said rotatable guides, akeeper member supported from the wall of a building adjacent the dooropening,

a rock shaft rotatably mounted adjacent the lower edge of the'uppersection, a latch mem- I ber carried by said rock shaft and co-operat-.ing with said keeper, an offset forked fitting ported adjacent andoffset in relation to the l ntel of the door opening and the hingedsupport for theupper door section and project ing substantially parallelwith the upper door section and in engageable relation with said forkedfitting and the keeper upon said upper section, an electric motor, and aspeed reducing gear train connecting said motor with said arm.

9. An operator for canopy type doors embodying therein the combinationwith an upper door section hinged adjacent thelintel of a door opening,a lower door section hinged to said upper door section adjacent thebottom thereof, counterweighting means, rotatable guides adjacent theopposite sides of the door opening, flexible connections extending fromadjacent the bottom of said lower door section to said counterweightingmeans and passing about said guides, of an electric motor geared to oneofsaid rotatable guides, a keeper member supported from the wall of abuilding adjacent the door opening, a rock shaft rotatably mountedadjacent the lower edge of the upper section, a latch member carried bysaid rock shaft and cooperating with said keeper,'an offset forkedfitting upon said rock shaft, an anti-friction roller carried by saidfitting, a keeper carried by the upper door section, an anti-frictionroller carried thereby and spaced from the door section, an armpivotally supported adjacent and offset in relation to the lintel of thedooropening and the hinged support for the upper door section andprojecting substantially parallel with the upper door section andpassing between said rollers respectively and the uppersection, anelectric motor, and a speed reducing gear train connecting said motorwith said arm.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature this 2nd day ofDecember,

